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Origin and history

The Château d'Houville-la-Branche, located in the department of Eure-et-Loir in the Centre-Val de Loire region, is a building built between the 17th and 18th centuries. It consists of a central body framed with two wings, preceded by a forebody surmounted by a curvilinear pediment. The back façade, overlooking a park, is accessible by a perron adorned with a wrought iron ramp, while the courtyard of honour is closed by a balustrade wall decorated with fire pots. Inside, the castle retains remarkable elements such as wrought iron ramp stairs, 18th-century panelling, and a dining room with a white marble fountain from the castle of Anatole France in Capian.

The monument also houses, on the first floor, a reconstitution of the bedroom of Anatole France, furnished with rooms from the same castle of Capian. These elements testify to a historical link with the writer, although the details of this connection are not specified in the available sources. The castle and its park, private properties, do not visit, but their facades and roofs, as well as the court of honor, were inscribed in the Historical Monuments by order of 21 April 1960.

The fence of the court of honor, with its balustrade wall and its fire pots, as well as interior details such as panelling and wrought iron ramps, illustrate the care given to aesthetics and decor during the construction periods. The castle, photographed by Gustave William Lemaire (1848–1928), remains a representative example of the aristocratic residential architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries in France, although its precise history and its former owners are not detailed in the accessible archives.

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